This is apparently the only variety of this species that is known to have escaped from cultivation in the United States. According to the USDA, this plant now has established wild populations in six U.S. states and territories (California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Its indigenous range (according to the Catalogue of Life) is limited to only five of Brazil's twenty-six states and includes the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.

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